


Lilies, Orchids, Violets, and Edelweiss

by Babetacular



Series: Little Hope's Florist Shop [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), F/M, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, M/M, Pining, gonta is a gentleman!, how original a flower shop au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:40:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28989390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babetacular/pseuds/Babetacular
Summary: Gonta, the ultimate entomologist, works every day with the ultimate florist. Both he and his insects work tirelessly to support you and your craft, but Gonta isn't sure how much longer he can wait to tell you how he feels. How will he find the courage to confess?
Relationships: Gokuhara Gonta/Reader
Series: Little Hope's Florist Shop [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2170086
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	Lilies, Orchids, Violets, and Edelweiss

**Author's Note:**

> This story features gender-neutral pronouns for the reader! It's my first time doing a story with a non-specified gender for the reader, so please let me know if there's anyway that I can improve! Enjoy!

Gonta approached the entrance to the Little Hope’s Florist Shop and walked around to the back to where his greenhouse stood waiting for him. He took the key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and turned on the lights. He closed the door behind him gently to ensure that no insects would escape from their warm enclosure.

The scents of daisies, honeysuckle, and yarrow danced around him. Butterflies floated gracefully around the gardenias, and he greeted them cheerfully as he grabbed for his apron and tied it around his waist so that he could begin his work day. Today, he was going to work with his ant colonies and move their dirt mounds to another set of lily-of-the-valley flowers that needed their care and assistance.

While it was true that an entomologist seemed out of place at the floral boutique, he served an essential purpose. Gonta bred bees, butterflies, and other insects to optimize the pollination of the flowers that were grown in the greenhouse connected to the shop. Each species that he had personally cultivated had grown helpful adaptations under his guidance and care. Some butterflies were bred with extra-sticky legs to ensure that no pollen was lost in flight. He increased the fertility of his bees so that their colonies were more fruitful and produced stronger offspring. 

When his tasks in the greenhouse were finished, he would find himself wandering almost absentmindedly to the front area of the shop that held vases of beautiful bouquets and a metal table where floral arrangements were made with the flowers that he helped tend to in his workspace. Today, you were at the workstation, eyebrows furrowed as you worked with a particularly unwilling bunch of heliotropes. The small, purple-budded flowers didn’t seem to want to be bunched with the red tulips strewn across the station. 

“Gonta? Could you grab me those pruning scissors on that little side table?” 

“Of course, y/n!” 

He was more than happy to help in any way that you needed. That’s just what a gentleman did! No task was too great for him to accomplish, even if he easily became distracted as your hands graced each petal as you worked. He secretly longed that your hands would touch him as delicately and as gracefully as when you placed flowers into their containers. To have your fingers brush his cheek...for your fingers to intertwine with his...sometimes it was all that he could think about. 

Walking over to the side table, he returned with your requested item. He noticed that your tongue had poked out from between your lips slightly, and he had to stop himself from gulping. It was true that he was a gentleman through and through, but...what if…

No. No! It would be ungentlemanly to think about such things. It was true that he had had only a small handful of partners in his young life, but things never progressed beyond a peck or two on the lips before the other person decided that they couldn’t deal with him anymore. It was true that his social skills weren’t the best, but it was only because he had trouble expressing his thoughts and feelings through words. Why couldn’t humans communicate through other means like insects did?

Gonta wasn’t stupid; he just had trouble expressing himself. Thanks to extensive self-study, he was able to increase his vocabulary a few words at a time, but they never seemed to want to escape his lips. Especially when he spoke with you. It was just too easy for him to get tongue-tied.

He placed the scissors on the table carefully to avoid bothering you as you wiped a bead of sweat that had collected on your brow.

“Thank you, Gonta! I don’t know how I survive here without you.”

And then you smiled up at him. That smile. He felt his face grow red, and he turned away before you could see how you affected him. Even a simple smile from you broke him into a million pieces. His heart hammered in his chest as he walked away and pretended to study the cooler full of flowers in the back of the room as he waited for his pulse to stop roaring his ears.

You worked carefully, interspersing bright yellow coreopsis throughout the purple and red bouquet. Gonta watched you carefully out of the corner of his eye as he sorted stock and unpacked boxes. The way that your body swayed and moved as you worked was mesmerizing.

“There!” You stood proudly as you admired the creation in front of you. The three colors were brilliant together, and you had finished it off with a red ribbon to cover the floral tape that held them together. He recognized the flowers that you had used as the ones that his butterflies had helped pollinate this season. They had turned out great! He would have to prepare a little thank-you treat for them for their hard work.

The clock chimed seven times, and Gonta sighed a little. His time with you was finished for the day, but he knew that he had tomorrow and plenty of other tomorrows to admire you from afar. 

“Ready to head out, Gonta?” You stretched your arms above your head, groaning slightly.

“I am! Let Gonta help you clean up!”

You worked carefully around each other as Gonta placed items on the tall shelves around the shop as your smaller body worked to sweep the shop of leaves and petals that had fallen during the day. Once you were both finished, Gonta took off his apron and hung it up at the front of the shop. He saw you carefully collect the bouquet that you had been working on diligently. 

“Gonta...wait! Please…” You had paused in place in the middle of the shop, your eyes downcast. You were avoiding his gaze. Had he done something wrong? He would never forgive himself if he had hurt you in any way. Did he not put things back where they belonged in the right places? Had he said something wrong today? He made sure to not stare hopelessly at you today, though it was more difficult than he would admit.

Gonta stood staring at you for what felt like forever. The roles were reversed this time. Normally, Gonta could barely stand to look at you. You seemed to gulp in air as you marched up to him and thrust the flowers into his arms. 

Gonta took them carefully in one hand. “Did you want Gonta to put this into the cooler? Gonta didn’t realize. Gonta is truly sorry!” He turned to the side to put them away, but was stopped when your hand grabbed his arm.

“Gonta, no. You see...I made this bouquet for you.”

Gonta blushed deeply and struggled to speak. His throat felt like it was covered in 1,000 wasp stings as he croaked out his words. “Th-thank you! Gonta doesn’t know what to say! These flowers are very pretty. Gonta has never gotten flowers before!”

“No..what I mean is…” Your face was red and you still weren’t looking at him. Were you angry? You didn’t look angry, but maybe he hadn’t thanked you enough? You had worked especially hard on this set of flowers.

You breathed deeply, sharply, as if even breathing was difficult. Gonta knew that he had messed up somehow. This is how his other partners acted when he had caused something terrible to happen. The next thing you were going to do was insult him in some way, and Gonta just couldn’t take anymore rejection, especially from you.

It was hard for him to stay still as you walked in front of him. He felt like a rabbit cornered by a wolf, waiting to be devoured. Your hand reached out, and Gonta flinched slightly. Instead of hitting him or grabbing the flowers back, you placed your hand gently over his.

“See, flowers used to mean words to people hundreds of years ago. People would give each other flowers when they wanted to say something to another person, especially when the words were difficult to say. It was called flower language.”

You moved your hand to point out each flower as you explained the meaning of the bouquet that Gonta held in one hand. “Coreopsis, these yellow ones right here mean happiness. How happy you make me. Red carnations symbolize how much my heart aches for you. And red tulips, well...they’re a declaration of love from one person to another.”

Gonta couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Your heart ached for him?

“I guess what I’m trying to say, Gonta...is that I love you.”

You loved...Gonta? You loved him? His thoughts felt like honey, moving too slowly for him to comprehend what you were saying. 

“I understand if you don’t feel the same way. Just enjoy the flowers, okay? I bet that your bugs at home will love them!” You smiled up at him, but your smile was full of pain. No.

Gonta acted without thinking. He couldn’t see you like this. Gonta threw the flowers onto the station and cupped both hands on your cheeks before crashing his lips onto yours. The force of his body hitting yours caused you both to hit the cooler behind you. His teeth hit yours, but it didn’t seem to matter. 

He kissed you clumsily, hungrily, as if he couldn’t bear to be without you for one more second. Gonta felt his hands begin shaking as he moved his face away from yours, a starstruck look on your face. Your face was almost as red as the forgotten tulips on the workstation. His thumb stroked your cheek, not believing what he had just done.

“Gonta…” He gulped, trying to breathe as he gazed down at you, “Gonta loves you too!”

And then you reached up with your hands, those soft hands of yours that he dreamed about, and brought him down to kiss him again. His hands drifted to your waist, and he pulled your body into his, finally closing the gap between you. He could feel your heart pound against his chest as you kissed him again and again, your lips soft and plush against his.

Gonta eventually broke the kiss. He didn’t realize that he’d been holding his breath as he kissed you, and he breathed deeply as he looked down at you.

“Gonta is very sorry! Gonta should’ve asked to kiss you first. That was not like a gentleman at all.”

You smiled up at him, all pain and sadness gone from your eyes as you shook your head. “No. I think that you did exactly the right thing.”

You took his hand in yours and linked your fingers with his. Gonta felt his heart begin to thud again in his chest as you brought his hand to your mouth and kissed it before letting it fall gently. “After all...a gentleman doesn’t leave his partner waiting.” You reached over to the station and gave Gonta the flowers again before walking with him to the door.

“Can Gonta walk you home?”

“Of course. I need someone to help me clear these butterflies in my stomach. I think a walk with my favorite gentleman is exactly what I need.”

**Author's Note:**

> Bonus points for discovering what the other flowers in the story mean! Also, it's pretty difficult writing Gonta without making him say his name over and over like a Pokemon. I might write another chapter for this if I feel motivated enough.  
> Also, happy late birthday, Gonta! <3 <3 <3


End file.
